"Tasty Tweets: 55+ Foodies to Follow on Twitter....@KarenAndAndrew — Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg are the authors of numerous books, most recently THE FLAVOR BIBLE, winner of the 2009 James Beard Award. Their tweets talk about their books, food commentary, and interesting links."—Cameron Chapman, Mashable.com (August 13, 2009)

"9 Famous Foodies to Follow on Twitter. Hungry for some tasty tweets? The culinary community is sweeping the Twittersphere, and now you can keep up with some of the biggest names in the biz just by clicking the 'follow' button on Twitter. Here are some faves... @KarenAndAndrew: You heard of THE FLAVOR BIBLE?Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg wrote the book." —Michele Laudig, Phoenix New Times (July 10, 2009)

Wednesday, December 28, 2011 — We are grateful to be ending the year on such a high note: Tomorrow we're giving our last NPR interview of the year for THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE, which was recently named both a 2011 Gourmand Wine Book Award winnerand— based on EatYourBooks.com's compilation of the end-of-year "Best Of" lists from 195 media (including the Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post, LA Weekly, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Chronicle, Vancouver Sun, and Wall Street Journal) —The #1 Wine Book of 2011.

We wish you all the happiest of holiday seasons, and every good thing you wish for yourselves in 2012!

Sunday, December 18, 2011 — Karen wishes Andrew a very Happy Birthday today, and a very happy year ahead! Thanks to all of you who have been sending your birthday greetings to Andrew on Facebook — although the very beginnings of a winter cold seem to be trying to ruin his day, he's fighting it valiantly with hot tea and honey and extra sleep, and all your good wishes are helping, too!

"At the top of Stacy's list is WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EATby Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Stop by space519 to pick up a copy for a friend or maybe even buy one to take home! This book has won multiple awards including 'Cookbook of the Year' Award by IACP in 2007 and is a great guide to pairing wine with your favorite foods."—FoodMafia.com

Sunday, December 11, 2011 — Loved seeing that Stacy Johnson, CEO of FoodMafia.com, cited WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT as her #1 holiday gift recommendation. Her recommendations appear in the Holiday Gift Guide put out by the 900 North Michigan Shops in Chicago, and you can stop by the second floor of 900 North Michigan Avenue (near the Christmas tree!) to see each recommended gift on display. Thank you, Stacy!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011 — This morning we were happy to wake up to the news that THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE had won the 2011 Gourmand Wine Book Award - USA in the category of Matching Food and Drinks. The email informed us that "The winner in each country will compete against winners in the same category in other countries for The Best in the World. The results will be announced on March 6th at the annual Awards event. It will take place in Paris at the Folies Bergère, the world famous theatre, the evening before the Paris Cookbook Fair (March 7-11, 2012). Congratulations!"

We look forward to booking our trip to Paris!

Saturday, December 3, 2011 — We're missing all our new and old friends in Seattle and Vancouver, whom we had the pleasure of sharing such special times with this week on our book tour for THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE. Still, we're happy to be home in New York City and sleeping in our own bed again — not to mention waking up to such extraordinary reviews of our new book in such publications as LA Weekly, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, San Francisco Chronicle, and more!

Monday, November 28, 2011 — Hoping you'll join us at our book tour events this week in Vancouver and Seattle, where we'll be discussing and signing copies of THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE in appropriately delicious settings! For details, contact Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks in Vancouver, or Kim Ricketts Book Events / Book Larder in Seattle. See you soon!

Our favorite balloon sculpture

The cotton candy was a crowd-pleaser!

Gramercy Tavern chef Mike Anthony and his family

"The best ham I've ever tasted" many swore this morning

The short ribs were the talk of the party this year!

Per Se's extraordinary view of the Thanksgiving Day Parade

Thursday, November 24, 2011 — Feeling thankful for everyone whose work has allowed us to enjoy such a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday this year —including the A-team at the restaurant Per Se who prepared and served such an extraordinary brunch on Thanksgiving morning.

We're also grateful to our friends for sharing such an incredible Thanksgiving dinner with us tonight at their home in Greenwich Village — we're happy to be bringing the wine plus the pies from Royer's Round Top Cafe (in Round Top, TX)!

Saturday, November 19, 2011 — Time travels at warp speed when you've got a new book out and are on tour with it, as we've been this week with THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE. We're thrilled that today it was named one of the five best wine books of 2011 by Lettie Teague in The Wall Street Journal:

By Lettie Teague

"There are hundreds of millions of wines in the world and seemingly as many types of wine books. There are texts for beginners, picture books of vineyards and wineries (and even winery dogs), innumerable guides to specific wine regions and even whole countries. There are memoirs and essays by wine importers and salesmen and critics and vast encyclopedias of every grape on the planet. There are even books that tell the history of the classification of wine. Here are my five picks of this year's varied best:

"...The information inside THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE by Karen Page and Andrew Dorenburg (Little, Brown, 336 pages, $35) is copious. There are timelines of memorable dates in food and wine (Chelsea Clinton's wedding is considered noteworthy as is her wine choice—Clinton Vineyards). There are calorie counts of common beverages, definitions of grape varietals and lots of insights about food and wine pairings and favorite dishes of sommeliers. The useful and interesting bits of information found in this lively reference make it suitable for wine beginners and food lovers alike."

Yesterday, Karen attended Citymeals-on-Wheels' 25th Annual Power Lunch for Women at The Pierre, which honored founding Executive Director Marcia Stein for 30 years of leadership and raised more than $1 million to feed New York's homebound elderly.

You can make a contribution to Citymeals-on-Wheels online in less than 5 minutes by clicking here. Know that 100% of your contribution will go toward the preparation and delivery of meals to the homebound elderly, and 0% will go toward administrative expenses.

Saturday, November 12, 2011 — We were sad to toast the end of an era but happy to toast the beginning of a new one at Eleven Madison Park last night, along with the debut of Daniel Humm and Will Guidara's gorgeous new ELEVEN MADISON PARK COOKBOOK, which — like our own THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE— was published by Little, Brown. Congratulations to Michael Sand, the editor of both books!

Today, we're on our way to San Francisco on our book tour for THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE, which includes a book signing at Draeger's in San Mateo tomorrow, Sunday, November 13th, from 1:00 - 2:30 pm; as well as one at Omnivore Books in San Franciscoon Monday, November 14th, at 6:00 pm, and one at Book Passage at the Ferry Building on Tuesday, November 15th, at 6:00 pm. We hope to see you there!

Left: The couple from the SuperDawg logo pose
Right: Bill Young snaps Andrew & Karen in "the pose"!

Special thanks to Bill Young, our exceptional author escort (and new friend!) in Chicago, who was our partner-in-crime on an unforgettable hot dog adventure that spanned a return visit to our personal favorite Hot Doug's (a must-visit when in Chicago!) to our first visit to Superdawg Drive-In, a Chicago classic since 1948.

Andrew on a break during the WCR Conference in Cambridge

Monday, November 7, 2011 — We were delighted to be a part of the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs (WCR) conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this weekend (just across the river from Karen's old stomping grounds at Harvard!). Today we're on our way to Denver, where we're doing a book signing for THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE at The Tattered Cover tomorrow night, and then to Chicago, where we're doing one at the Union League Club on Wednesday night. Many thanks to Bill Daley of The Chicago Tribune and to Erica Bethe Levin of CheekyChicago.com for their posts today mentioning our Chicago event. Hope to have the pleasure of seeing you soon!

Friday, November 4, 2011 — Over the past several years, we've fallen in love with the dozens of wine experts we interviewed for THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE. (As we were able to tell some of them the other day, we think of them as the "characters" in our book!) So it is a special pleasure to be able to introduce you to five of them in the brand-new book trailer that was created to let the world know THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE exists. Please click the "Play" arrow on the video and meet Heather Laiskonis of Aldea, Ron Millerof Solera (where all the luscious food was shot), Claire Paparazzo of Blue Hill, Raj Vaidya of Daniel, and Hristo Zisovski of Ai Fiori. You'll also love reading what they have to say in THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE!

Saturday, October 29, 2011 —It's a strange ebb and flow, this author business. We spend years with our heads down, researching and writing a new book, and then suddenly it's time to come out and play and tell the world that it exists. On the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), we each come out very close to one another on the Extroversion/Introversion scale: right down the middle. That's probably the only way we're able to handle both the isolation that writing requires as well as the 180-degree turnaround of sociability that book promotion requires. With more than 100,000 new books published every year, we don't take it for granted that readers of our previous books are ever going to know about our latest book unless we personally find ways to let them know about it. So we're emerging from our years-long virtual "cocoon" to get ready to go out on the road to re-connect with our readers starting next week.

We're hoping we'll cross paths with you along the way. After all, our conversations with readers not only provide invaluable feedback regarding our current and previous books, but they also provide inspiration for our next books. We've always got a list of a dozen or so ideas for books we want to write, and we enjoy the opportunity to "take the temperature" of readers' readiness for various concepts. Our readers are always pleasantly surprising us with both openness and sophistication, and connecting inevitably leave us eager to get back to the cocoon to write our next book!

We'll be in Boston, Chicago, Denver, greater New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver over the coming weeks, and you can read about our planned book discussions and signings on our News and Events page here. Again, we'll hope to have the pleasure of seeing you along the way!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 —This week we salute 2011 Rising Star Pastry Chef Jenny McCoy of CRAFT, who asked us to serve as her "mentors" in bestowing her award last night at Bar Basque in New York City. We've long been calling Jenny a "rising star," so it was a pleasure to see that our opinion is obviously shared so widely!

Many thanks to those of you who congratulated us on the recent mentions of our books in the popular publications Manhattan User's Guide and The Daily Beast. In case you missed them, you can read them here:

"One of the finest in the business when it comes to modern British fare tells us what he’s loving right now: Mary Queen of Scots executive chef Chris Rendell grew up in Melbourne enjoying a hybrid cuisine comprised of dishes from his English father’s traditional British Isles favorites....[Beloved] Cookbook:The amazing one-stop resource for both the professional and home chef alike.THE FLAVOR BIBLEby Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg [is] one of the essential go-to cookbooks. The years they spent putting this together for chefs to have on hand is incredible. To find the depth of knowledge and experience in one place is amazing. It’s a book that will draw you in and you will find yourself using it as a reference no matter how much or how little experience you have in the kitchen."—TheDailyBeast.com (October 4, 2011)

"More Fall Books: Some major tomes coming down the pike:
What: THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE Who: Karen Page and Andrew DornenburgWhen: November 3Why: The husband-and-wife team are among the most highly-esteemed authors in the food world and rightly so. As with their previous books, PaDorn breezily share copious amounts of good information about food and wine. Quality-of-life improvements are guaranteed."—Charlie Suisman, ManhattanUsersGuide.com
(October 4, 2011)

P.S. With our new book THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE about to hit bookstore shelves in a few short weeks, it's an overwhelmingly busy time for us right now. If we're belated in responding to your email or phone call, please feel free to follow up — it's nothing personal!

"The two most anticipated reference books are THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg (Little, Brown) and The Oxford Companion to Beer (Oxford Common Press)." —Paris Cookbook Fair newsletter (September 2011)

Saturday, September 24, 2011 —Our thanks to Edouard Cointreau and his colleagues behind the Paris Cookbook Fair for citing our forthcoming book (on November 3rd!) THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE as one of the fall's most anticipated reference books. The fact that the other book cited was The Oxford Companion to Beer suggests that this fall will have a stronger-than-usual focus on libations —and that wine and beer will yet again battle it out for consumers' affections.

Why do we believe that wine will prevail? After seventeen consecutive years of growth, the United States has just
become the number-one consumer of wine. However, the single largest segment of American wine drinkers categorize themselves as "overwhelmed" by the vast array of choices offered in wine stores, on supermarket shelves, and on restaurant wine lists.

In writing THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE, we set out to simplify the subject for the sake of the "overwhelmed" among us, taking the perspective that if you love food, you know flavor — and you can master wine.

We're happy to celebrate wine as an all-American beverage that's a key part of our country's history and culture, and to provide an encyclopedic A-to-Z reference, profiling more than 250 wines by grape, region, weight, intensity, flavors, food pairings, notable producers, and more. Laced throughout are sidebars on finding wines you'll love based on the foods you love, plus insider tips like "Ten Secrets for Getting More Pleasure from Wine" and "150 Wines Under $15."

Best of all, in THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINEyou're guided by dozens of one-time aspiring chefs, urban planners and rock stars who, through twists of fate, followed their passion for wine and became some of America's best sommeliers at such restaurants as Blue Hill, CityZen, Daniel, Eleven Madison Park, the French Laundry, the Inn at Little Washington, Le Bernardin, Manresa, No. 9 Park, Per Se, and Spago. They share in the book's 352 pages their insider recommendations, including go-to wines for tough food-pairing challenges as well as favorite wine regions that yield the best values.

We think THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE is the ideal companion to our books The Flavor Bible and What to Drink with What You Eat— and a game-changing guide that promises to empower wine drinkers to usher in a new era of wine mastery and enjoyment for all.

Pre-order your copy of THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINEhere, or at your favorite bookstore near you.

2010 Cupcake Vineyards Shiraz at Lincoln restaurant in NYC

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 —Given our mission of encouraging more Americans to enjoy wine with their evening meal, we're even more optimistic when we discover lovely wines at price points accessible to a wide audience. Yesterday, we tasted a bunch of impressive Muscadet wines (from the Loire region of France) at John Dory that fit the bill, and today at Lincoln we were introduced to a national line of diverse wines targeting American 20- and 30-somethings as "an affordable luxury."

Cupcake Vineyards kicked off in 2008 (on the heels of America's cupcake craze) by selling 10,000 cases of Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, sales top a million cases — and Cupcake is still adding new wines to its $8-$14/bottle line-up, including typical versions of Malbec, Moscato d'Asti, Petite Sirah, Pinot Grigio, Prosecco, Riesling (from the Mosel region of Germany as well as Washington state), and Shiraz. Given the brand addiction of many Millennials, it seems to be a smart strategy to bring them in with a cute name (who doesn't like Cupcakes?), deliver impressive quality and consistency for the price, and expand their allegiance across a wide variety of wine styles from around the world.

Thursday, September 8, 2011 — It's (almost) here! In just 8 short weeks from today, our latest labor of love THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE will hit bookstore shelves!Here's an insider's sneak peek at the book that's already been nicknamed "THE FLAVOR BIBLE for wine drinkers":

The book is based on our interviews with dozens of America's best sommeliers, including 2011 James Beard Award winner Belinda Chang (late of The Modern, and now of the Monkey Bar in NYC):

In addition to sommeliers' insider tips on mastering wine, you'll find flavor profiles of more than 250 different wines from around the world— from white to red, dry to sweet, flat to sparkling, classic to little-known — including fabulous-yet-still-underappreciated sherry:

Laced throughout are sidebars on finding wines you'll love based on the foods you love, plus insider tips like "Ten Secrets for Getting More Pleasure from Wine" and "150 Wines Under $15."

Don't miss out! You can pre-order your copy of THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE at better bookstores near you, or for just $22.40 now at www.amazon.com.

Monday, August 22, 2011 — We hope you're enjoying the summer....We're thrilled thatTHE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE (Little, Brown; November 3, 2011) is finally off to the printer after one of the single busiest weeks of our lives...and that we finally have the opportunity to catch up on our sleep! We expect to hit the ground running after Labor Day with all the exciting plans for our Fall 2011 book tour. In the meantime, we're even more thrilled to be attending another wedding celebration this week (as we also celebrate our own 21st wedding anniversary!), and look forward to sharing details of our recent travels thereafter....

Don't Miss:

North Fork Table & Inn, 57225 Main Road,
Southold, NY 11971;(631) 765-0177. Just two hours from Manhattan, the North Fork
is a great place to head to taste some of the best of Long Island's
impressive-yet-overlooked wines -- and the North Fork Table &
Inn is THE place to stay and dine! www.northforktableandinn.com

We'll be spilling the beans in the weeks to come on other spots
that are a comfortable drive from New York where you can extend
your summer vacation -- but in the meantime, here are a few tips
for those in Manhattan:

Radio City Music Hall and Lincoln Center's new combination tour has got it all: architecture, design, culture, history, and fun surprises -- all for the value price of $25 (for BOTH tours)! We're delighted we took this combo tour (given by the lovely and charming Joyce Hancock at Radio City) with family the other week -- you can, too: www.radiocity.com/tours.

Red Farm, 529 Hudson St. near Charles. Some of the most delightful Asian-influenced flavors and textures in all of New York are coming out of this brand-new restaurant helmed by Eddie Schoenfeld and chef Joe Ng.

Saxon + Parole, 316 Bowery at Bleeker, which chef Brad Farmerie and team AvroKO will open in September in the space formerly occupied by our much beloved Double Crown.

Monday, July 18, 2011 — It's been as exciting a moment for our friends to share the news of their pregnancy as it's been for them to announce the birth of a child. In our case, it's as exciting for us to get to share the news that we have a new book on the way....As of today, Amazon is displaying our forthcoming book THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE, which is due to hit bookstore shelves this fall. We hope you'll take a moment to pre-order your hardcover copy today — as wine drinkers will find it as handy a reference as WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT and THE FLAVOR BIBLE, and those of you with wine-drinking friends will find it as beautiful a gift book to share this holiday season!

Sunday, June 26, 2011 — We'd promised our niece Kristen Dornenburg over the holidays that we'd get more active on Facebook in 2011. In her honor, we created a new Facebook page today that will allow us to interact with our readers and share the latest news on our books — past, present and future. Keep an eye out for updates on our forthcoming book THE FOOD LOVER'S GUIDE TO WINE, which is due to hit bookstore shelves in just a few short months.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 — Congratulations to Citymeals-on-Wheels for organizing such a wonderful party last night at Rockefeller Center that raised $750,000 to feed New York's homebound elderly. The 26th Annual Chefs' Tribute to Citymeals-on-Wheels was a delicious celebration of "A Taste of Home: Star Chefs and Wineries Celebrate Family Feasts." We loved getting to chat with (and taste the creations of!) chefs such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten, White House pastry chef Bill Yosses, Zarela Martinez, SD26's Matteo Bergamini, Quality Meats' Craig Koketsu, Sushi Zen's Toshio Suzuki, and Telepan's Bill Telepan.See more photos at www.twitter.com/KarenAndAndrew.

Saturday, June 4, 2011 — We're so bleary-eyed from proofreading the galleys for our next book that it was a welcome pleasure to re-focus our eyes on something else this morning: As of today, our last book THE FLAVOR BIBLE has appeared on Amazon.com's Top 100 Cooking, Food & Wine Books for 1000 days! (Today, it's at a respectable #55.) Our heartfelt thanks to all of you who made this possible!

The happy team behind 2011 American Classics winner
Chef Vola's in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Lou Esposito of Chef Vola's, who told us he'd remembered
our speaking at his graduation 15 years ago,
with Karen

Karen with Baroness Sheri de Borchgrave

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 — We loved getting to see so many friends at last night's 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards, cheering on the big wins of many (including Danny Meyer's Eleven Madison Park for 2011 Outstanding Restaurant, Jose Andres for 2011 Outstanding Chef, and Belinda Chang of The Modern for 2011 Outstanding Wine Service) and consoling others with the hope that their time will come. We are happy to post a few photo mementos of the evening from the backstage press room (where we live-Tweeted the Awards) and the reception that followed.

Before the Awards ceremony, Andrew bumped into James Beard Award-winning chef Sandy D'Amato and 2011 JBFA nominee for Best Chef: Midwest Justin Aprahamian, both of Sanford in Milwaukee. Justin told Andrew he'd read CULINARY ARTISTRY while still in high school, where it made a lasting impression on him. We are always heartened to learn of yet another chef who was inspired by CULINARY ARTISTRY, which was entirely conceived by and primarily written by Karen while Andrew was still working full-time as a chef himself.

The official James Beard Foundation Awards press release appears below:

NEW YORK, May 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Winners were announced this evening, Monday, May 9, 2011, at the annual 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards, the nation's most prestigious recognition program honoring professionals in the food and beverage industries. During a ceremony hosted by Tom Colicchio, Traci Des Jardins and Ming Tsaiat Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, awards in the Restaurant and Chef and the Design and Graphics categories were presented, as well as a number of special achievement awards including Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America, America's Classics, Lifetime Achievement, and Humanitarian of the Year. Winners of the Foundation's annual Book, Broadcast and Journalism Awards were presented on May 6, 2011, at the ceremony and dinner at Espace in New York City, hosted by Ted Allen of Food Network's Chopped and The Best Thing I Ever Ate and Gail Simmons of Bravo's Top Chef. A complete list of all award-winners can be found on www.JBFAwards.com.

Industry leaders from across the country attended the highly-anticipated festivities, which celebrated this year's Awards theme of "The Ultimate Melting Pot," a tribute to the nation's wonderfully diverse food culture, a mosaic of influences from many lands, as described by James Beard himself in American Cookery, in which he acknowledged the unique character of American food that resulted from the varied backgrounds of American citizens. In a nod to this year's theme, the Foundation invited both chefs who have emigrated from various places to America as well as chefs born in America that have been inspired by international cuisines to present dishes that reflect the country's multi-cultural influences. At the Gala Reception immediately following the Awards Ceremony, guests enjoyed a dine-around gala prepared by these notable chefs, including many of this year's winners and nominees, among them Jose Andres, Saipin Chutima, Tyson Cole, Andy Ricker and Michael Solomonov.

In addition, to celebrate this year's theme, "The Ultimate Melting Pot," the James Beard Foundation announced a new scholarship initiative for 2011. The new initiative, the James Beard Foundation Scholarship for Immigrants in the Kitchen, will award four $5,000 scholarships, fully funded by Food Network, to four aspiring chefs for their culinary education. A unique feature of this scholarship is that it will be earmarked for students who have immigrated to America from another country. Since its inception, the Foundation's Scholarship program has awarded over 3.6 million dollars to deserving culinary students, and is proud to announce a program, with founding support from Food Network, that will recognize the international flavors, ingredients, and recipes that continue to inform and redefine American cuisine. The winners will be selected in Spring of 2012.

Established in 1990, the James Beard Foundation Awards recognize culinary professionals for excellence and achievement in their fields and continue to emphasize the Foundation's mission: to celebrate, nurture, and preserve America's diverse culinary heritage and future. The annual James Beard Foundation Awards honor the best and the brightest talents in the food and beverage industries, celebrating outstanding achievement in each of the following categories: Restaurant and Chef, Restaurant Design and Graphics, Books, Broadcast Media, Journalism, and special achievement awards. Each category has an individual Awards Committee made up of industry professionals who volunteer their time to oversee the policies, procedures, and selection of judges for their respective Awards program. All award winners receive a certificate and a bronze medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia. There are no cash prizes.

Founded in 1986, the James Beard Foundation is dedicated to celebrating, nurturing, and preserving America's diverse culinary heritage and future. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, James Beard, who died in 1985, was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Today, the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships to culinary schools, and publications, and by maintaining the historic James Beard House in New York City's Greenwich Village as a "performance space" for visiting chefs. For more information, please visit www.jamesbeard.org. Find insights on food at the James Beard Foundation's blog Delights & Prejudices. Join the James Beard Foundation on Facebook. Follow the James Beard Foundation on Twitter.

Monday, May 9, 2011 — It has already been a great weekend, and we're looking forward to live Tweeting (starting around 5 pm) tonight's 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards from backstage at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in the press room. To follow along, please visit Twitter.com/KarenAndAndrew.

If you'd like to follow ALL the James Beard Foundation Awards live Tweets, click on #jbfa.

Sunday, May 1, 2011—

As May kicks off, we're typically busy looking forward — to Karen's birthday (May 8th), to James Beard's annual birthday celebration via the James Beard Foundation Awards (May 9th), and (this year) to getting our next book off to the printer this month so it's able to hit bookstore shelves this fall!

So it's nice to have a piece of happy news catch us by surprise and bring us into the present...

"10 Best Cookbooks in the World"

Thanks to a Google news alert, we learned that on April 28th Forbes columnist Alex Munipov released a list of the "10 Best Cookbooks in the World" published over the past hundred years — and that THE FLAVOR BIBLE was among them.

Here's the complete list:

* Larousse Gastronomique (1938): "This is the main culinary encyclopedia in the world, unconditionally the first item on any list of books related to food."

* Time-Life's The Good Cook (1978-1981): "A series of cookbooks published in the late 1970's by Time-Life Books in 28 volumes, each devoted to a particular ingredient or technique."

* How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman (1998): "His huge 948-page book, over the 13 years since its release, has become perhaps the major American culinary tool."

* Jamie's Kitchen by Jamie Oliver (2003): "His books have been translated into 26 languages and published in 40 countries, making him the bestselling non-fiction author of the last 10 years."

* On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee (1984): "Worshiped by many chefs and home cooks on both sides of the Atlantic, this is a bible of the chemistry and physics of food intended for a general reader."

* Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Sidzuo Tsuji (1980): "Sensei Tsuji, founder of the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, was and remains the most influential Japanese to have ever written about Japanese food."

* How to Cook by Delia Smith (2001): "In 1969, her cake graced the cover of the Rolling Stones' album ' Let it Bleed'...How to Cook is sold in a three-volume set, as one large edition, and individually."

* The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden (1996): "Consistently makes all the lists of the best cookbooks of all time (in last year's ranking by The Guardian, it ranks third)."

* Seductions of Rice by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid (1998): "An homage to rice...Dedicated to the philosophy and practice of rice dishes in each of the known rice regions: Thailand, India, China, Japan, Central and Middle Asia, etc."

* THE FLAVOR BIBLE by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg (2008): "This handbook fuels culinary imagination: It consists of a list of successful combinations of ingredients...A monument to all the eternal culinary rhymes, and an up-to-date list of new culinary chords."

Our thanks to Alex Munipov for including THE FLAVOR BIBLE on Forbes' distinguished list.

We had a wonderful time celebrating the good news last night after a moving performance of "Be a Good Little Widow" at Ars Nova in New York City. The play by Bekka Brunstetter stars the amazing Jill Eikenberry, whom we joined afterward (with her equally amazing husband Michael Tucker, author of the Italian food lovers' must-read Living in a Foreign Language and blogger at Notes from the Culinary Wasteland) for a bite at Ardesia, our new favorite wine bar thanks to the warm hospitality of co-owner Mandy Oser (whom we knew through Le Bernardin) and talented chef Amorette Casaus.

There turned out to be even more great news to toast: Jill had just been nominated for a 2011 Drama Desk Award for her featured performance in the musical "The Kid." (Jill is in the impressive company of fellow nominees Victoria Clark and Patti LuPone, and we wish her the best of luck come May 23rd!)

Tomorrow night (Monday, May 2nd) from 7-10 pm, we'll be joining the Culinary Institute of America's 2011 "Chef of the Year" Daniel Boulud and dozens of other Citymeals-on-Wheels supporters for the opening bash of Boulud Sud and Epicerie Boulud (where we experienced an impressive tasting the other day during a pre-opening hardhat tour) across from Lincoln Center in Manhattan, with proceeds benefiting the homebound elderly. Details here. Hope to see you there!

Speaking of awards, we'll again be live blogging the 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards being held at Lincoln Center in New York City the night of Monday, May 9th. (We were the first to live blog the James Beard Awards from the backstage press room in May 2006.) Please mark your calendars to join us live at www.twitter.com/KarenAndAndrew or on our blog for our chats with the winners, photos, and more! (Have a question for a winner? Tweet us at @KarenAndAndrew!)

Daniel Boulud addresses the standing-room-
only crowd from a ladder at Boulud Sud in NYC

Tender octopus at Boulud Sud in New York

The kitchen team at Boulud Sud put out a steady stream of
delicious tastes previewing the restaurant's menu

Chefs hard at work in Boulud Sud's open kitchen

Boulud Sud's preview chicken and lamb dishes

Friday, April 15, 2011— What a surprise (not!): Daniel Boulud does it again. At a hard-hat preview tour and tasting this afternoon, Daniel's latest ventures Boulud Sud and Epicerie Boulud gave every indication of appearing to be on track to delight New Yorkers upon their opening in a couple of short weeks.

Boulud Sud is a 120-seat restaurant that will draw on the flavors of the Mediterranean, from southern France to Spain, Italy, Greece, North Africa and Turkey in both its menu and wine list.

Epicerie Boulud is an eat-in and take-out market and cafe offering Boulud's signature charcuterie along with cheeses supplied by cheesemonger Anne Saxelby. (The oysters we tasted at the oyster bar were pristine, so we'll look forward to returning in the future to witness the Epicerie's nighttime transformation into a wine and oyster bar.)

Sunday, April 10, 2011— We were happy to be joined by Northwestern junior Jane Weiss yesterday for a day-long internship through Northwestern University's NeXT externship program, which pairs current students with alums working in their field of interest.

We'll see if we can coax Jane to share a paragraph or two about our day of culinary adventures....

"If a restaurant is full and it lasts and it's making money,
the chef is probably doing something right."—Paul Bocuse

Wednesday, March 30, 2011— We were happy to receive a preview of tonight's Culinary Institute of America Leadership Awards Gala at a press conference held today at noon at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan. It was only fitting to have on hand two of America's most renowned chefs — Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller — as the CIA's President Tim Ryan announced as the CIA's "Chef of the Century" the legendary chef Paul Bocuse.

Boulud will be honored tonight as the CIA's "Chef of the Year." Yesterday, Keller was only the third American culinarian in history to be named Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, an award presented to him by Bocuse in recognition of his promotion of French cuisine in the United States.

Bocuse is an 11th generation chef, whose kitchen lineage dates back to the 1700s. He was born in the Lyon restaurant he still lives in. (Thanks to Boulud's French-to-English translation, we learned that Bocuse is often asked what's changed there since his birth, to which Bocuse's reply is, "I just changed the sheets!") After apprenticing with the legendary Fernand Point at La Pyramide, Bocuse went on to win the MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France) in 1961, and his restaurant won three Michelin stars in 1965, which it has held ever since.

Keller credited Bocuse with bringing chefs into the public eye: "Before Paul Bocuse, we didn't know chefs' names. He was the first to come into the dining room. He defined the modern chef...one with a point of view about food....The book The Great Chefs of France [in which Bocuse is featured] changed my life."

Boulud received his culinary training in France within eyeshot of Bocuse and his colleagues, a fraternity whose fellowship he admired, and credits him as a "great educator." In recounting the list of Bocuse's restaurants — which includes his eponymous three-star auberge, five brasseries in Lyon alone plus eight in Japan, not to mention two fast food restaurants, Boulud (who has earned virtually every culinary honor of which we're aware) attested humbly, "We feel very modest next to Paul Bocuse."

Bocuse's son Jerome Bocuse, a 1989 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, testified on a more personal level that Paul is "a really good father" — one who "never missed a day of picking me up at school."

Our congratulations to Paul Bocuse on his well-deserved honor as "Chef of the Century."

P.S. Thanks to Daniel Boulud, we were able to congratulate Paul Bocuse, about whom we first wrote in 1995 in our first book BECOMING A CHEF (which features him in several chapters) personally. Boulud whisked us to the front of the room to introduce us to Bocuse in French (we're not sure exactly what he said, but he greeted Karen with kisses on her cheeks). Then Boulud himself took our camera to shoot us with the well-worn copy of Bocuse's 1977 book PAUL BOCUSE'S FRENCH COOKING we'd brought with us, which Bocuse was gracious enough to autograph for us. Merci, Chefs, for a moment we'll never forget!

Time magazine's July 23, 1984 cover on
Geraldine Ferraro making history, in her
trademark silk dress and pearls, made us
believe the world was changing for women

Geraldine Ferraro, Karen Page & Donna Zaccaro
at the November 2008 Citymeals-on-Wheels
Power Lunch for Women in New York City

"We fought hard. We gave it our best.
We did what was right and we made a difference."—Geraldine Ferraro

Monday, March 28, 2011— Yesterday morning out in the country, we woke up to the very sad news that Geraldine Ferraro had lost her long and brave battle with multiple myeloma, at the age of 75.

Twenty-seven years ago, in 1984, Karen was one year out of college (as an economics major who'd earned a certificate in women's studies); Geraldine was the age that Karen is now when she made headlines — and history — as America's first female VP candidate on a major party ticket. Karen first met Geraldine (a fellow grade-skipper, although Geraldine skipped three grades while Karen only skipped one) while volunteering on her campaign, and invited her to speak at a gathering of the young professional women's organization she had founded in New York City. The same year, Karen also had the pleasure of meeting Geraldine's daughter Donna Zaccaro, with whom she's been friends ever since.

While serving on the board of directors of The International Alliance, in 1993 Karen was invited to introduce Geraldine as the keynote speaker at the organization's annual conference in the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan. She obsessed over the introduction, feeling the pressure to make sure it paid proper tribute to this historic figure for whom she felt both admiration and affection, and Andrew must have listened to literally dozens of versions of that introduction before she felt she might have finally nailed it. The audience's reaction was the ultimate confirmation: Geraldine Ferraro received the single longest and most thunderous standing ovation she had ever heard.

After supporting Geraldine's Senate campaigns in 1992 and 1998 (shortly after which Geraldine was diagnosed with multiple myeloma), Karen had the pleasure of seeing Geraldine over the past decade at several of the annual Power Lunches for Women hosted by Citymeals-on-Wheels, which Geraldine and Donna both regularly supported.

Her presence, there and everywhere, will be greatly missed. But this trail-blazing pioneer who opened the doors for other women will never be forgotten.

In lieu of flowers, the family of Geraldine Ferraro has requested that donations be made in her honor to one of four non-profit organizations, including The Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Research Center at Dana-Farber, The Religious Order of Sacred Heart of Mary in Tarrytown, The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, and Citymeals-on-Wheels.

Thursday, March 24, 2011— This past week we've been grateful to break up the long hours of proofreading and fact-checking our next book (which heads off to the printer shortly) with the pleasure of a movie screening (the foodie must-see "The Restaurateur," starring Danny Meyer) and a benefit performance (joining Susan Dey, Jill Eikenberry, Michael Tucker, and other supporters to cheer on the amazing women of LAVA at Dixon Place) — not to mention a few wine tastings, including one we're on our way to momentarily.

Friday, March 18, 2011— We're looking forward to Sunday afternoon's benefit performance by Sarah East Johnson's amazing group LAVA, and hope to see you there!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011— We're just back from a long, blissful weekend away at the world-renowned spa The Lodge at Woodloch, which is located just 90 miles from Manhattan in Hawley, Pennsylvania (and having an extraordinary sale this month: $199/night for a midweek visit!). After enjoying our time hiking and snowshoeing and relaxing, we're looking forward to returning to the task of getting our new wine book ready for publication this fall.

The Lodge at Woodloch:

"Top 10 Destination Spas in the World" - Travel + Leisure

"Top 10 Spas in the World" - TripAdvisor.com

"Best Places to Relax in the U.S." - AOL Travel

"Stay List" - National Geographic Traveler

"Hot List" - Condé Nast Traveler

"10 Most Luxurious Spas in the U.S." - Forbes.com

Sunday, February 20, 2011— Yes, we're still alive — just busy working 12-hour days as we put the finishing touches on our next book, which is due to hit bookstore shelves this fall. We're incredibly excited about it! More news to come soon....

Monday, January 17, 2011— Today, we open our email bag and share a message we just received that touched us this weekend:

I'm a 22-year-old college senior studying Philosophy, and recently I've been considering a career in the culinary world because, well, I'm having trouble finding employers who need someone with a thorough understanding of Kantian metaphysics. Plus, I absolutely love cooking, and I'm getting pretty good at it. Especially since I got two of your books.

I've made my way through a few cookbooks, and I wanted to start coming up with my own recipes, so I asked for THE FLAVOR BIBLE and WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT for Christmas. It's astonishing how much they've taught me in a short amount of time. When I'm planning a meal, I open your two books and a notebook, and I start working out something of a puzzle -- all the pieces have to fit together. I start with a main ingredient and bounce flavors off each other until I've got a combination of ingredients and wine that not only work together, they somehow elevate each other. This makes me feel supremely cool because I recently saw a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvhjbYXDdu4) of Grant Achatz doing the same thing.

Last night, for dinner with my dad, I grilled pork chops and made a salad with apples and gruyère. My dad's instinct was to reach for a Merlot or Zinfandel to pair with the chops, but I had put the ingredients together with an off-dry Riesling in mind, per your book. I had even added a touch of ginger to the chops' seasoning, and garlic to the salad dressing, because of their affinity for Riesling.

I don't think I'd ever had a full glass of Riesling before, so I really felt like I was taking a leap of faith. This pairing, though, was exceptional. A "1+1=3" situation. The wine played off the apples and the gruyère, but it was able to stand up to the chop and the slightly loud balsamic vinaigrette as well. I was blown away. Next time I make a steak, I'm going to try white wine. I can't wait.

So what I'm saying, in a lengthy and roundabout way, is "thank you." Thank you so much. Your books rule. They make the information incredibly easy to understand, and they allow for real confidence in creating a meal. It's hugely reassuring to know a dish and its beverage pairing are recommended by some of the world's best chefs and sommeliers.

...Thanks again to both of you. I can't praise your books highly enough. You have absolutely revolutionized the way I cook, and the way I think about flavors and beverages in general.

P.S. I also tried Gewürztraminer for the first time, with some Muenster. Wow. You guys weren't kidding around.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011— Happy New Year! As you may know, balanced flavors are the key to being satisfied with less food and drink, which is why our new What to Drink with What You Eat iPhone app ($2.99) is the perfect gift to yourself or someone you love who's watching what they eat. We were delighted by Charlie Suisman's write-up in today's must-read Manhattan User's Guide:

“The 10 Best Cookbooks in the World: Forbes magazine chose the 10 best cookbooks published over the past hundred years: Larousse Gastronomique (1938), Time-Life's The Good Cook (1978-1981), How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman (1998), Jamie's Kitchen by Jamie Oliver (2003), On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee (1984), Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Sidzuo Tsuji (1980), How to Cook by Delia Smith (2001), The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden (1996), Seductions of Rice by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid (1998), and THE FLAVOR BIBLE by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg (2008).